State Theatre
Central Avenue N,
Harlowton,
MT
59036
Central Avenue N,
Harlowton,
MT
59036
1 person
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The American Theatre was built in 1917, and opened on May 21, 1920. It was managed by G.C. Moore and featured vaudeville acts and silent film. The projection box was located at the front underside of the balcony. The American Theatre screened its first ‘talkie’ “Lord Byron of Broadway” on March 21, 1930. It was renamed State Theatre in 1934, and H.W. Knutson became the manager.
The building had been closed for many years, when it was severely damaged by a fire in around 1997. It was victim to a huge fire, which began at the top front of the building on the mid-afternoon of August 15, 2012. Only the walls of the building now survive.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
Does anyone know if the building is still standing? The fire may have occurred subsquent to the photos above.
The State was in operation by 1936. An obituary published in the April 7, 1956, issue of Boxoffice said that the late Hans J. Petersen had managed the State Theatre at Harlowton for the Knutson circuit from 1936 to 1945.
I drove through Harlowton on April 1st of this year, 2011, and the State Theater still stands… no foolin'
The AMERICAN STATE Theatre in Harlowton was purchased by The American State Theatre Corporation in 2013 and details have been completed for restoration of the original theatre built between 1917-1920 as the American Theatre, designed by noted Montana architects Link & Haire. It’s auditorium was identical to Link & Haire’s Judith Theatre in Lewistown. (See CT auditorium view). In the last fire in 2013, the stage and dressing rooms were not destroyed. The building deemed safe and structurally sound by a leading engineer’s report to the Wheatland Council. Found in the dressing room were over 100 blue prints of the original Link & Haire drawings, while a further 30 designs were located in the Montana State Archives. To read about the future plans for the American State Theatre Restoration look in the Harlowton “Live” site. There is a complete historical report about theatres and cinemas in Harlowton. In the new concept the building will be multi-purpose! Any cinema will operated in complete co-operation with the Harlowton High School’s Harlo Theatre, and provide alternative cinema fare. John David Love.
GC Moore was my great uncle. I have a photo of him if the organization is interested. P. Moore.
John David Love is there any intent of further restoration of this building? There is some movement in the community. The Graves Hotel has the restaurant and bar open and they are working on rooms, although it is for sale. There is also a micro brewery under development and some other projects in the works. The citizens of Harlowton would like to see something done with this structure, it would be nice if it could be restored and Harlowton would become a destination location of sorts if there was entertainment I believe people would come. There are microbreweries in a couple of neighboring towns now too.
Harlowton is in the process of revitalizing the downtown area. Please let us know if your plans to restore the theater are still in the works. Thank you